Inod, letting Serena''s words sit between us.


    The light from the bedsidemp glows across the room, creating a halo around the edges offer some kind offort. I can still feel the tension clinging to her like sweat.


    sof Serena''s profile as she stares up at the ceiling it might


    "Do you even love him?" I ask gently. "Nathan"


    Her lips part, but nothinges out right away. Then, in a small voice, she says, "Maybe. He''s sweet, and he cares about me."


    Her throat catches. A soft hup follows. Then the first sab


    "And I just broke his heart," she whispers, as if realizing it for the first time. Tm an evil person, Sloane. So evil"


    Her face crumples and her shoulders hunch inward. The tearse fast now, I slide toward her across the mattress and wrap my arms around her, pulling her into my chest.


    She doesn''t fight


    it. Just shudders in my hold, her body trembling. And even though she''s the


    older one, the feels impossibly small.


    the taller one, the louder one, in this moment


    "You''re not evil," I say, brushing my fingers lightly through her hair, even as my own heart aches. "Okay? This will all go away. It''s just a storm. It pass


    "Mom hates me now," she mumbles against my shirt. "I saw it in her face. She looked at me


    1squeeze her a little tighter. "No, she doesn''t She doesn''t. She''lle around."


    like I wasn''t hers."


    But as I say the words, they catch in my throat. Because deep down, in the quietest corner of myself, I''m not sure I believe that.


    Two weekster, on a Friday


    we were back in


    Serena''s still at my ce. She''s been there since the dinner. She started off using my skincare products and stealing my cardigans college. But after a few days, Nathan dropped off all her things outside the bui And Knox? He''s a ghost I get texts from Sweet, thoughtful messages. Video calls where he looks like he hasn''t slept in days. But it''s not the same as seeing him in person, I tell myself it''s my fault for dating a bu angry!


    y somebody else lives conveniently being upied by Jade. The irony isn''t lost on me. I fought Knox about moving in, fought hard. But now I''m


    there.


    Most of that anger is directed


    at Jade. He destroyed the peace I didn''t even realize I was holding onto. And Mom? She''s still not answering anyone''s calls I''m convinced she''s blocked all of us


    I''m mid-


    keystroke on a firewall report when I hear my supervisor''s voice from above me.


    "Drop whatever you''re doing," Harper says. "You''re needed on the top floor."


    My hands freeze above the keyboard. "Top floor?",


    "CEO''s office." She''s already walking away. "Now


    Uh oh. I don''t like this.


    Ever since Hunter strutted into thispany and imed his throne as CEO-


    just like he said he would-


    he''s managed to stay far, far out of my way. And I''ve been perfectly fine with that arrangement Thriving, even. We haven''t so much as passed each other in a hallway. Not once.


    Which, honestly, isn''t that surprising. Top execs move like shadows in this ce. They take the private elevator, have their own entrances, their own goddamn alt, probably. The rest of us? We stay tethered to th So what the hell is this? Why now? Why me?


    I stand and smooth down my skirt, then grab my phone. Harper''s already at the elevator, walking at a pace that makes me have to jog to catch up. I pin just before the doors close.


    The ride up is quiet. I stare straight ahead, resisting the urge to bite my lip.


    When the doors finally open into the top floor, I''m hit by how pristine it all looks. I''ve only been here once to deliver a message from Harper to one of the executive assistants, but I tell it''s a lot different now Like a


    hotel lobby merged with the


    brain of a Fortune 500pany. Sleek Furniture, Wall- to wall windows spilling sunlight across marble floors. Art that probably costs more than my car.


    Harper leads me down aidor and stops at a thick walnut


    door. She knocks once and then opens it.


    "Here she is, Mr. ckwell," she says, gesturing like I''m some long-lost package.


    Inside, the office isrge and


    modern, with one wall almost entirely ss. Hunter sits behind a curved desk, mid-conversation with a bald man in dark sunsses, who''s seated by the window He''s holding a silver-tipped walking stick between both hands, upright like a


    ceremonial sword.


    "Thank you, Harper. You can leave now," Hunter says without looking at her. "And Ms. Mercer,e in and shut the door."


    My heels tap across the floor. As Harper exits behind me, I catch her giving me


    a look that says, "Don''t do anything stupid."


    I nod faintly and walk farther into the room, shoulders straight even though my spine feels like it might snap


    "Sit down, Sloane," Hunter says.


    I lower myself into one of the two chairs facing the desk.


    The bald man hasn''t stopped staring Or maybe he isn''t staring at all. The sunsses make it hard to tell. But it feels like he''s watching me. Judging me.


    "So, Sloane," Hunter says, resting his elbows on the


    desk. "You''re aware that we''re doing a bit of restructuring around here, aren''t you?"


    Inod. "I am."


    "Good." He flips open a thick file


    folder and begins to skim through it.


    "Mr. Mateo Torres," He gestures to


    the man by the window, "the


    majority shareholder, and I were reviewing personnel this week, and


    your file stood out."


    My stomach clenches.


    "Don''t worry. I mean that in a good way


    He flips


    to a page and starts reading aloud. "Led a security patch upgrade that prevented a major leak in Q2. Detected a data breach before it reached the client interface-


    He keeps reading, naming things I recognize as my past projects.


    Eventually, he closes the file.


    You did all this in six years?"


    "Yes," I say, my voice even, "I did."


    "That''s excellent work. Exactly the kind of thing that shouldn''t be buried on the lower floors. The previous executives were ipetent. Promotion based on hookups and office politics. All of that ends now."


    Thesitate.


    unsure how to respond. It''s... good? Buting from Hunter, it feels like a trap:


    "Thank you so much, Mr. ckwell," I say atst. “I believe there are others who work just as hard"


    “Hardworking and humble,” he says, grinning. "I think we made the right choice, Mr. Torres."


    I nce over at the man again. Mr. Torres removes his sunsses. One of his eyes is scarred shut. It''s not grotesque, but it startles me. The other eye pins me in ce like a microscope slide.


    "Of course we did," he says. "Ms. Mercer-may I call you Sloane?"


    "Yes, you may.


    "Great." His voice is smooth but low. "What would


    Id you say about a corner office?"


    My mouth opens a little "That... it has a great view of the city."


    Hunter lets out a soft chuckle. "Told you she''s funny."


    Mateo isn''t smiling, though. He keeps watching me. "The officees with a higher paycheck. Different


    responsibilities, Bonuses. Benefits. This is not a job anymore. It''s a career"


    I nod slowly, heart thudding


    "We''ll go over the details over dinner," Mateo says. "Right after the close of worke on. Not today, when I''m supposed to meet Knox.